strobing tailcap??

[djenkins]

im looking for a tailcap with strobe to fit a 6p i wanting to pair it with a malkoff m60?? any ideas i really dont want a hard to use programmable just something simple.

i have looked at the fenix lights but i read in some post that the strobe on a fenix does not really strobe at the right speed to be disorienting to an attacker? i also read that the most disorienting lights strobe between 15 and 20hz.

so will the lifesaver blitzer tailcap strobe in this range and will it work with the led drop in??:thinking:

 

[RyanA]

im looking for a tailcap with strobe to fit a 6p i wanting to pair it with a malkoff m60?? any ideas i really dont want a hard to use programmable just something simple.

i have looked at the fenix lights but i read in some post that the strobe on a fenix does not really strobe at the right speed to be disorienting to an attacker? i also read that the most disorienting lights strobe between 15 and 20hz.

so will the lifesaver blitzer tailcap strobe in this range and will it work with the led drop in??:thinking:

Actually I did some research on the blitzer and I think they had it listed at 8-8.5hz or so, which I believe is slower than the fenix at around 10? Anyways 12-13hz is optimal.

 

[sol-leks]

Ive used the strobe on my fenix on my gf a few times and she gets pretty disoriented.

 

[Monocrom]

G&P makes a strobe tailcap. Main downside is that it tends to brain batteries at a slow rate, even when the light is off. Not the sort of thing for an EDC light. But it works as advertised. (I own one. Currently not on any light. But it definitely fits my 6P).

Here's a link:
http://www.lighthound.com/GP-AI-Tailcap-Switch-with-STROBE-Function_p_6-486.html

 

[MrGman]

djenkins, your 15 to 20 hertz strobe frequency will not be achieved by an LED flashlight. The light doesn't go out that fast so it starts to simply look like its on at half power. There have been numerous arguments posted as to whether or not any LED flashlight strobe available today is truly disorienting enough to the point where it might help you against an attacker. My vote is that it is not, especially not in a small hand held flashlight making less than 200 lumens out. They may make some one who is drunk disoriented enough to barf, but I would not rely on one for an alert and serious attacker as a defensive tool.

If you use the argument that the Malkoff makes over 220 lumens out, I would say it may not ever reach that in the pulsed mode before it turns off, very hard to tell.

I have the Malkoff M60 and the G and P tailcap that strobes. I don't find it disorienting. In my misguided youth I went to a lot of parties and clubs that had strobe lights running everywhere. Never made me disoriented. It was quite the norm and people didn't seem to have any problem with them.

These things are not like high intensity strobe lights which is a fast neon tube flashing on and off very quickly.

Don't get your hopes up. The Malkoff M60 of course is a great buy.

 

[HKJ]

djenkins, your 15 to 20 hertz strobe frequency will not be achieved by an LED flashlight. The light doesn't go out that fast so it starts to simply look like its on at half power.

A led has no problem doing 15-20 Hz strobe and also much faster. Leds are very fast at on/off.

But our eyes are not that fast and will start averaging the light.

 

[MrGman]

Now that I think about it, its probably the drive circuit, I have seen many a real strobe with variable frequency operate, and have no problem seeing true stroboscopic effect without averaging the light from such a source. If our eyes just averaged it out we would never see its effect. They human eye and the brain its connected to is much better than that. I see the light being averaged from LEDs, so maybe its just that the driver doesn't turn off the current that fast. Maybe if it was direct drive only.

 

[gilly]

G&P makes a strobe tailcap. Main downside is that it tends to brain batteries at a slow rate, even when the light is off. Not the sort of thing for an EDC light. But it works as advertised. (I own one. Currently not on any light. But it definitely fits my 6P).

Here's a link:
http://www.lighthound.com/GP-AI-Tailcap-Switch-with-STROBE-Function_p_6-486.html

As Monocrom stated, this tailcap has it's limitations. About a year ago, I had one of these tailcaps on a 6P (with an LED drop-in on front) in my SWAT vest. Kept draining the batteries and when the battery voltage gets low, this switch stops working. (instead of getting dimmer and dimmer it justs cuts out). Not using it anymore for this reason.

 

[djenkins]

thanks for the help guys that eliminates one tailcap!!!
so do any of you know any info about the lightsaver miser tailcap its got like different power levels, but i was wondering if it worked with leds and if it drained batteries like the g&p tailcap??

also what are my other options??

like what are some hosts that will accept the m60 drop in that might have multi-modes??

 

[Superdave]

I have the strobing G&P tailcap, it dosen't work on my LED lights.. it'll strobe super fast (maybe 40+ Hz) then drop down to 20Hz or so but it won't actually turn on the light.

It does work fine with an incan bulb. I keep it on my 9P with a P91 and it works good.

I tried to record a video but it's too fast of a flash for the camera to record, the first part looks solid on and the rest is like 1/4 the speed.. lol

 

[michaelmcgo]

First off: I had a G&P tailcap for my surefire, and the first one worked for about 4 on/offs, then quit. I emailed the eBay seller, and he sent me a new one free of charge. That one lasted about 10...

Second, a LED can strobe at an incredibly high rate. Sorry if some of the details are sloppy, but this is what I remember from electronics class. The trick is to manipulate the voltage just right. In a normal bulb, you have a rise and a fall as the current is applied, as the filament heats up and cools off. With an LED, the light appears instantaneously as soon as there is enough voltage to energize the diode. When the current is stopped from flowing into the diode, the light goes out as soon as enough of the electricity in the diode is converted to light and the voltage falls back beneath the threshold. The trick is to fluctuate the voltage around that threshold, and you can have an amazingly high hertz. The problem with most strobe circuits is they are designed to be used with most LEDs, so they must fluctuate between a higher/lower voltage than the threshold of your LED.

 

[angelofwar]

Try the Light Saver tail cap...they make two seperate ones...the Miser and the Blitzer. I use the Miser on my G2 and it works fine. The Blitzer has 7 strobe functions, and might be better suited for Self Defense" use.
http://www.actiongear.com/cgi-bin/t...ery.ctx=tailcap&backto=/agcatalog/results.tam

 

[gratewhitehuntr]

I have the strobing G&P tailcap, it dosen't work on my LED lights.. it'll strobe super fast (maybe 40+ Hz) then drop down to 20Hz or so but it won't actually turn on the light.

haha try 8.4 volts

I carried one around for a couple months as an entry light and had another for constant on

one day I put 2 x rcr123 into it and it stays on fine

one tap on... hold to strobe

I have two
they aren't too bad

plays hell on drunks
not really anyone else though

oh yeah seems to pulse with some drop ins
not with others
perhaps it happens when the drop in has a PWM too
two in the circuit ??